FL: Cost of taxpayer-funded security, travel for Ron DeSantis soared ahead of presidential bid

[RandySF]

Guarding and transporting Ron DeSantis and his family got a lot pricier for Florida taxpayers as the Governor began ramping up for a run at the White House.

In the past year, the cost of DeSantis’ full-time security and travel increased by nearly 60% to $8.86 million, according to an annual report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

The Governor’s security and travel costs have swelled each year since Fiscal Year 2020-21, when taxpayers paid $4.3 million for FDLE personnel to protect and escort him, First Lady Casey DeSantis and their children.

In the following fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, the cost rose 28% to $5.5 million. No single year-over-year jump, however, was higher than in the fiscal year that ended two months ago.

The uptick was primarily the result of raises and additional personnel on the DeSantises’ security detail, whose cost more than doubled from about $2.4 million in 2022 to $5 million in 2023 as the Governor began traveling across the country to fundraise for a presidential bid.




https://floridapolitics.com/archives/629506-cost-of-taxpayer-funded-security-travel-for-ron-desantis-soared-ahead-of-presidential-bid/